The growth of mobile has made round-the-clock connectivity to the internet possible, allowing consumers to shop anywhere at any time. To cater for 24-hour convenience and on-the-go shopping, retailers are turning to innovative technology.

Social shopping, e-commerce videos, free shipping and in-store pickup rank among the top trends expected to drive holiday sales for online retailers, according to Blueocean Market Intelligence, a global analytics and insights provider.

Saks Fifth Avenue is launching a new user-generated content hub on its e-commerce site. Called #SaksStyle and based on the Curalate Fanreel image integration platform, #SaksStyle allows customers to display photos from Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr in a social shopping environment.

With U.S. social commerce sales expected to reach $14 billion by 2015 and social networks like Twitter and Facebook ramping up their commerce capabilities, a survey by global marketing and technology agency DigitasLBi, and conducted online by Harris Poll, shows that while only 5% of Americans have made a purchase on a social media site, 20% would consider doing so.

Sephora has launched a new social shopping platform, called Beauty Board, to engage customers through beauty images and allow them to post, share, browse and shop the company’s photo gallery directly on its web site, mobile site, iPhone and Android apps.

Most U.S. consumers, and many retailers for that matter, have probably never heard of Rakuten. But if Japan’s largest e-commerce marketplace has its way, that will soon change: The company has set its sights on becoming a household name in the United States. An even loftier goal: outpacing e-commerce giant Amazon.com.

Mobile shopping continues to grow at a rapid pace, with an increasing number of mobile shoppers embracing Internet retailer apps, social shopping apps, and brick-and-mortar retail apps to enhance their shopping experience.

The store experience isn’t what it used to be. Rapidly developing omnichannel technologies, such as mobile and social, are redefining the very definition of a “store” and what customers can accomplish within.

A generational shift is afoot that’s about to upend the retail landscape.

The root cause of the impending transformation lies in changing demographics. By the decade’s end, millennials, also know as Generation Y, will displace baby boomers as the biggest consumer-spending group in the United States. Broadly defined as the generation born from 1980 to 2000, these “echo boomers” will account for approximately $1.4 trillion in spending by 2020, or about 30% of total retail sales, according to Accenture research.

Social media platforms offer retailers a chance for direct engagement with consumers as well as access to highly personalized data, all in real or near-real time. During the holiday season, with its intensified levels of competition and customer distraction, having the type of direct promotional connection with customers that social media can offer is more crucial than ever.

Mobile shopping rose in the second quarter while social media sales fell, providing an indication of where U.S. retailers may invest in order to capture the attention and loyalty of the digital consumer, according to a new report from IBM.

Solutions Spotlight

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